Meet The Team

Jeff LeLeux comes from a long heritage of ship builders dating back to the 1960's with the Swift boats having been worked on by his father and industry leader, Calvin LeLeux. Jeff began his career in the shipbuilding business in 1995 after graduating with a degree from Louisiana State University in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering. His initial task was as a design engineer for mechanical and electrical systems on military and commercial platforms. In this capacity he worked on vessels ranging from military patrol boats, Offshore support vessels in both steel and aluminum, coastal mine hunters built in fiberglass, dive support vessels and a crab processing/fishing vessel. He progressed to a program engineer and project manager expanding his oversight to hydrographic survey vessels, super yachts, riverine assault craft and steel landing craft. Jeff eventually succeeded his father as President of the organization where he oversaw the development of the business for over 12 years until deciding to develop his capabilities in a separate endeavor for unmanned platforms and clandestine client's needs. He has participated in over 400 vessels being built and supported all in the detailed design, construction and follow on support efforts with each craft. He has executed programs in numerous foreign countries through both direct commercial sales (DCS) and foreign military sales (FMS) including Egypt, Iraq, Dominican Republic, and Bahrain. Jeff has also participated in maritime programs for the USN, USMC, US Army and other USG entities.

Dan Pead has been an entrepreneur in the maritime space over the last 15 years. From running boat yards and marinas to successfully taking over the dive service industry in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Dan brings two decades of military service beginning his career in the US Navy. After 6 years he jumped ship to the US Army where he became a US Army Green Beret and was assigned to a Combat Dive Team where he attended Combat Dive and recieved his USCG Captain's License. Dan served as the leader of a drone cell during his time in Special Forces, focusing on employment and the strategic use of robotics in warfare. 

Dan's focus for Virtus Maritime is in maintaining a firm connection between developments in tech derived from the battlefields of current conflicts today and using this to fuel research and development and production at scale.

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Prior to Virtus Maritime, Andrew managed a team pursuing acquisitions and licensing transactions for a healthcare-focused private equity firm. Prior to his PE experience, he briefly held a role as the Chief Operating Officer at an infrastructure startup. Before that, he worked for McKinsey and Company in their energy practice. Andrew began his career as a Lieutenant and Platoon Commander for the U.S. Navy in their Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, specializing in the safe disarming of all underwater and land-based ordnance, including biological, chemical, nuclear, and improvised weapons used worldwide. 

Andrew holds a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Phil Braun leads Virtus Maritime in strategy and is the Managing Director of Virtus Minerals.
Phil holds degrees in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, as well as International Business from the College of Charleston. He also brings two decades of military service, currently serving as a Green Beret with the 20th Special Forces Group in the National Guard.
With a strong foundation in operations and supply chain management, Phil has previously held key roles, including being an operations and supply chain consultant at Seraph Consulting. He has successfully led numerous crisis management initiatives in the automotive manufacturing sector, notably overseeing the relocation of two manufacturing operations from central Ukraine to Europe immediately following the Russian invasion.
Phil oversees the overall direction of VCO and Virtus Maritime. His efforts aim to transform the way in which the USV market has been trending in order to provide practical, reasonably priced maritime defense solutions globally.